Not sure what to do. Pool is cloudy.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
R

RobIsConfused

Member
May 30, 2020
7
South Carolina
So we’ve had this pool for two years now. This is our second summer with it. Last year it was fine but we like idiots didn’t cover it for the winter. Long story short when we started this year it was a swamp with a ton of leaves and pollen on the bottom and sides of the wall.

We have worked hard and gotten all the leaves and pollen out that we can. I feel no leaves when walking on the ground and I scrubbed the Crud out of the side walls.

We then saw the slam process and figured we give that a try. Well it worked and got the water from looking dark swampy green to blue like you see in the pictures.

The problem now is the water is super cloudy and it’s been like this for a about a week. We’ve kept pouring liquid chlorine in and the levels have no problem staying above 6 but it just doesn’t seem like the water wants to clear up.

So do we just keep dumping more and more chlorine in it? I read floculant and clarifier isn’t recommended on here but I wondered if that may help.

Finally for pool specs. It’s a 20 something to 30 something round above ground pool. I don’t remember the exact feet, I think 26 or 28. The ph we got to 7.2 and the stbalaizer is around 30. Free chlorine we have kept at over 6, the test doesn’t register higher then that.

Thanks for reading all of this and for any help or suggestions! It’s highly appreciated!
 

Attachments

  • 8D4433B7-6D01-4E23-9051-509C75050831.jpeg
    8D4433B7-6D01-4E23-9051-509C75050831.jpeg
    144.9 KB · Views: 29
  • D419E783-C3FA-4FF2-8194-42D9636EF8AC.jpeg
    D419E783-C3FA-4FF2-8194-42D9636EF8AC.jpeg
    343.8 KB · Views: 29
Welcome to the forum!
You need to follow the SLAM Process. To do that, you need a proper test kit, see Test Kits Compared. I suggest the TF-100 A proper test kit is needed to get the accurate water chemistry results needed to follow the TFP protocols. You may only need the FAS-DPD test kit, let us know what you have.

While you are waiting on your test kit, add 5 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine / plain bleach to your pool each evening with the pump running. This will replenish the FC lost each day to the sun and also inhibit any algae in the water from growing further.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.
 
Thanks for the reply!

Yes we’ve been following the slam process as close as possible. As stated the water is just cloudy now. In fact when you get in the pool or look closely you can see all kinds of small debris and particles floating everywhere.

As far as the test kit goes I’m not sure what particular one it is. It came in a blue plastic case and has the little tube thing. It has several different drops as well. Heck I’ll just upload a picture of it lol.
 

Attachments

  • 91CEEEAB-22B2-4F7D-86DA-529ADB340D9B.jpeg
    91CEEEAB-22B2-4F7D-86DA-529ADB340D9B.jpeg
    366.1 KB · Views: 21
Order the TF100. How did you get a CYA test result. The kit you have only tests to 3 ppm TC and the pH is no good above 3 ppm TC.
 
Get a proper test kit. Add the 5 ppm FC worth of liquid chlorine in the pool as I described above. Once you get your test kit, we can provide some guidance.
 
I second that.The money you wasting at the quessing game could be used on a great kit T-100. I have used DE Media when my water is a little cloudy from fine particles floating in my water.Just be careful using and follow directions and watch the pressure guage.But,looking at your pictures the Media will not work.But,you really need to take mkknaus advise.Good Luck
 
I appreciate the replies guys I really do. With that said please don’t take this the wrong way but... how is buying a hundred dollar test kit going to clear up our water?

I understand the chemical levels need to be correct and that the test will help us get there. With that said I’m still confused on how the right chemical balance can get the particles out of the pool and clear it up.

If my chemical levels are correct what would my next step be? Again I’m not saying I won’t buy that kit but I don’t believe that kit is the only one that can measure correctly is it? Would it not be a good idea to go off of the results I get now with my current kit while we wait for the new one? I don’t know I feel like the kits must be ok because it worked all last year. We just screwed it up royally I believe by not closing it and covering it through winter and spring.
 
Then get the Taylor K2006C. It has the same tests as the TF100. Has more reagent for the tests you rarely need to do and costs more.

Key of TFPC is accurate, pool owner testing. You must be able to test FC accurately and above 10 ppm to do the SLAM process. The CYA level is needed to know what FC level you need.

Good luck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kplaster and PoolNewb2020

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Mknauss, kplaster and poolnewb2020 are correct and they know their stuff. To correctly monitor your SLAM you need to test for higher chlorine levels than the typical test kit provides. For example, here’s a thread on how I turned my pool from black to clear by SLAMming and monitoring chlorine levels over a span of two weeks. I kept the chlorine level at a minimum of 20 ppm for 10 days ..... it took 20 gallons of 12.5% chlorine. See: The Black Lagoon

The key is you don’t really know if you are maintaining a high enough chlorine level without a proper test kit. And further, you need an accurate CYA reading to know what your target chlorine level should be when you SLAM.

I’ve learned all sorts of stuff on this forum, and I admit, it took a while for me to get with the program, but now the pool is so much easier to maintain because I know eggs-ackley what it going on at all times as I test frequently using the TF100 test kit. This spring I opened to crystal clear water and could see straight to the bottom thanks to advice kind folks posted in that black lagoon thread I pasted above.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RobIsConfused, kplaster and PoolNewb2020
The key to the SLAM process is knowing your CYA so you know your FC level, then keeping the FC up at SLAM level. The FAS-DPD kits allow you to accurately measure FC to almost any level. Without it you could have too much FC and risk damaging your liner /equipment, or too little and risk never having enough to really kill off the algae.

It’s a bit of an initial investment but if you stay here and use the methods we teach to maintain the pool you will save way more than $70-$100 in the first year alone in chemicals you end up not needing to add to your pool that the pool store recommends.

As an aside - you can try a deep clean of the sand filter. That may help a bit, if you happened into the right amount of chlorine to kill off the algae in the pool.
 
Alright that makes sense guys! I understand what y’all are saying now with being able to measure the FC higher then 6. That’s very clear and makes perfect sense.

So if I am able to measure the FC accurately and actually get it up to a high enough level for days and possibly a couple of weeks that should clear up all the junk and particles floating around?

Thank y’all again :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: kplaster
RobIsConfused said:
Alright that makes sense guys! I understand what y’all are saying now with being able to measure the FC higher then 6. That’s very clear and makes perfect sense.

So if I am able to measure the FC accurately and actually get it up to a high enough level for days and possibly a couple of weeks that should clear up all the junk and particles floating around?

Thank y’all again :)
Click to expand...
The filter will clear the pool. But it takes time. Meanwhile you want to be sure you don’t have algae growing somewhere putting more cloudy stuff in the water as it dies. That’s why you want to follow the SLAM Process as it’s laid out, including the testing needed. :)
 
It has all the tests but without the C it has a lot less tests. The C is important to get the larger bottles of reagents.

I got a Taylor K2006C but I sort of wish I’d gone with the TFT-100. They have fresher reagents and more of what you need to get to test for a SLAM without larger sizes of reagents you don’t need. I’m gonna end up throwing away a lot of TA and CH test reagents as they expire. Plus for you, the TFT-100 ships out of NC so you’d get it pretty quick.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tillmac62
I second getting the TF100 kit over k-2006C. It seems more tailored to a pool owner with bigger reagent bottles for tests that should be performed more often, and smaller bottles for other tests.
The k-2006c seems to be tailored for pool maintenance professionals that would test all parameters during their maintenance route.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply